Nikita Lalwani’s novel You People (Viking, £12.99; Tablet price £11.69) focuses on the plight of Shan, a Sri Lankan asylum seeker working in an Italian restaurant in London.

Nikita Lalwani’s novel You People (Viking, £12.99; Tablet price £11.69) focuses on the plight of Shan, a Sri Lankan asylum seeker working in an Italian restaurant in London. Vesuvio’s owner, Tuli, is an enigmatic character who employs and aids illegal migrants, but no one knows his true motives or where his money comes from. Shan is desperate to be reunited with his wife and child, but terrified of being deported before he finds them. Lalwani eloquently explores the prejudices, financial pressures and loneliness faced by “outsiders” trying to survive a hostile environment.

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